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Kiss Army Argentina Exclusive Interview with Jean Beauvoir: I had a Kiss poster on my wall and my grandmother wouldnt come in my room, coming from a Voodoo background, she was convinced that Gene was a devil spirit!
KISS ARMY ARGENTINA SHARED A FEW MOMENTS WITH JEAN BEAUVOIR REGARDING HIS WORK WITH KISS. JEAN TALKED ABOUT HIS PLACE IN KISSTORY AND COMMENTED HIS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. DON'T MISS THE INTERVIEW!

Kiss Army Argentina: Jean, thanks for devoting some time to this interview with KISS Army Argentina. We are proud of having your contribution. Jean Beauvoir: Thank you You are very welcome! Kiss Army Argentina: As you may imagine, it is impossible for us not talk about KISS, and we think that you have a lot of interesting things to tell us, especially because you have worked with them in times that were complicated for the band Jean Beauvoir: What can I say is that it was a pleasant surprise for me to get the opportunity to work with the band that was one of my main inspirations to pursue a Rock and Roll career. All bands go through trying to find themselves, or self-express, question or whatever the case may be, even a group like KISS, who seems so definitive. Its part of the journey I think. Kiss Army Argentina: You were born in Chicago, and your parents are from Haiti (one of the poorest countries in the world), but at an early age you moved to New York City, where you found a rock scene harder than the one in Chicago. You even joined the emblematic punk band The Plasmatics. Please tell us more about that. Jean Beauvoir: Born in Chicago, and then moved to Queens NY. Culturally, it just didnt fit my Haitian upbringing and my father felt we didnt belong there. We moved way out to Long Island NY, I was pretty much the only black kid for miles and quite the novelty, not always good! Thats where I really got my music education, listening to Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Clapton, Hendrix, The Stones, The Beatles and then KISS, all the great rock stuff. I was also a fan of Motown I loved the fantasy of Rock music, Rock stars and the lifestyle, it was really intriguing! I started playing drums in Junior high school rock band, I was encouraged by a teacher who had once opened for the Who. I then moved to bass, then guitar. I was always singing lead whichever instrument I played. Playing in a band helped my popularity in School, my band would play the school dances, students started wearing our T-shirts; it was way cool. The manager for Gary US Bonds then spotted me in a club He offered me a tour starting in Florida, I was too young to drive, but I got a couple of older guys in the band

-2and off we went. Ended up touring all over the US, Vegas, Dick Clark shows, Playboy clubs etc. Interesting childhood (smile). After I had the bug, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I moved to NYC and started searching out the punk scene, CBGB, Maxs and the hung in the lower east side. The Plasmatics were just getting started and after an audition, I was offered the gig. Kiss Army Argentina: But before talking about your contributions to the hottest band in the world, lets go to the beginning. We know you are a KISS fan, and that that interest started at an early age. Please tell us how you found about KISS and became a fan, something that in the 70s must have been really huge for a young guy like you. Jean Beauvoir: Yep, I learned about KISS, saw pictures and went to my first concert at Nassau Coliseum I believe 1975. I was done, it just blew my mind I was sure I had to rock the rest of my life, but my parents didnt agree (smile). I had a poster on my wall and my grandmother wouldnt come in my room, coming from a Voodoo background, she was convinced that Gene was a devil spirit! Kiss Army Argentina: How did KISS influence your beginnings in music and what other bands and artists did you listen to in those early days? Jean Beauvoir: Very much so, Ive always been a fan of fantasy and bigger than life, things that take you to another place. As I mentioned earlier, Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, Beatles, Stones, Janis Joplin, and lots of cool stuff. I liked Top 40 as well, good songs with great hooks. I learned to play drums, bass and guitar playing along to records I did music theory as well, I just listened to records all day and night. Kiss Army Argentina: You met Paul Stanley in the early 80s. How did that first meeting occur? We only know that it happened by chance, when you were a member of The Plasmatics and the band was the opening act for KISS during some of the dates of the Creatures of the Night Tour; is this correct?. Jean Beauvoir: I was at a NY club fishing for girls! There was really cool place where actors, musicians, models and everyone would hang out. I was just there and Paul walked over and introduced himself: Hi, Im Paul Stanley from KISS, I know your Jean from The Plasmatics. I never saw him without makeup, so I wouldnt have recognized him. We became close friend and hung out a lot. I actually had just left The Plasmatics by the time they did that tour with KISS. Kiss Army Argentina: For KISS fans you are a first hand source when it comes to understanding more deeply what was going on with the band in those troubled days of Animalize and Asylum. Your story with KISS is not restricted to writing contributions only: you were also a session musician and that puts you in a very special place in KISStory Jean Beauvoir: Its great to be a part of the story. Even though Paul, the band and myself were very close during that time, I didnt witness that much complication to be honest. Perhaps because I had seen lots of complication in the music business already in my life I saw them leave management, Paul and Gene would each take a part of the album and write it with different partners, it was a time of re-invention, no makeup was quite a change. Me playing on the album was very casual. Paul and I wrote songs together on a 4 track, I usually played bass on those demos. Gene and Paul both liked a certain feel I had I would always be at the studio as friend when my songs or other songs were being recorded. Paul asked me to play on something, and then Gene would just say: Beauvoir, you want to play on this track? I actually never said anything to anyone about it; later, KISS out it out there. Kiss Army Argentina: During the recording of Animalize in 1984 Gene Simmons was somehow

-3absent or disconnected from the recording process because he had chosen to focus more in his acting career, more specifically, in those times, in the film Runaway. Please tell us about the experience of recording with KISS; how were things among the band in those days? You were a privileged witness of the turmoil because, maybe among other stuff, of the changes in lead guitar position while Paul was trying to lead a boat that seemed to be sinking Jean Beauvoir: Im not trying to be diplomatic, but yes, things were more difficult. Paul and Gene from what I always saw were very meticulous in how they moved things forward, scheduling, getting things released and taking care of business. Changing a guitar player and trying to keep everything in line was not easy, some stress but they just plowed through it. Gene was focusing on the film stuff, I saw that, but he was in the studio when he needed to be and things got done Ive heard a lot about the sinking ship in those years, but a few million albums between Animalize and Asylum, I dont think is really sinking 100,000 is sinking! Kiss Army Argentina: Going on with Animalize, we know you co- wrote with Paul a great hit of the band, Thrills in the night, but like we said before, that you had also taken Genes place for some of his bass lines in that song but also in Get all you can take and Under the gun. Were you in contact with Gene in those days to consult him or to receive some indications from him as to how you were going to play the bass lines? What else do you remember from those recording sessions? Jean Beauvoir: I cant remember all the details of all the sessions. Wish I had an Iphone then (smile). From what I can remember, they pretty much let me go, I understood the music and knew what it needed. I think between the 3 of us, we were on the same page. Paul was usually with me in the studio, Gene would check it out and wed make sure everyone was happy. Kiss Army Argentina: Jean, how did you see Mark St. John in KISS and what was the real degree of his participation in Animalize? Jean Beauvoir: I remember him being quite active. Everything was very organized in the recordings. Theyd do drums, Mark would have slots to do solos, hed come in and do them. Really good guitarist! Kiss Army Argentina: Beyond that initial meeting with Paul Stanley, how close you were in those days with Gene, Eric Carr and Mark St.John? Jean Beauvoir: Pretty close with everyone, but mostly Paul and Gene. Eric as well We all see each other at get togethers, parties, backstage somewhere, in the studio hanging out, at rehearsals. I saw a lot of everyone. Kiss Army Argentina: How much freedom did you have in Animalize as a bassist? What were your contributions to the band in that sense and to Paul, who also produced the album? Jean Beauvoir: The parts where I co-wrote the songs were already pre-conceived on Paul and his famous 4 track demo.. So that was pretty much doing the same thing we worked out originally with some little extras. The other parts, as I mentioned earlier in the interview, were done by how I felt it, with final approval by Paul and Gene. Kiss Army Argentina: Your contributions to the band continued in Asylum in 1985, in which you co-wrote Who wants to be lonely and Uh! All night. How did you see the band in this second experience with them? Please tell us more about the process of cowriting with Paul. How did you work together? Jean Beauvoir: It was cool. Paul and I were pretty casual in our writing for starters. We would just sit in his apt, 4 track on the table and always ordered Chinese food. He introduced me to Won Tons in sesame sauce, I love those things and still eat them till this day Every time I do, I think Im writing a KISS song! We

-4would spend a good amount of time, looking for riffs, then for melodies. We would go back and forth until it was right.. Record the basic song on the 4 track, check it, then use that to work on lyrics. It was a few days per song to get it all finished. Desmond came in to add spice to the lyrics. Kiss Army Argentina: If you had to analyze your participation in Animalize and in Asylum, which one do you prefer? Jean Beauvoir: I liked both, but by Asylum, Paul and I were closer, I was more comfortable, so I believe the process was smoother. KissArmy Argentina: Are there any more songs that you co-wrote with Paul and that have not been released? Jean Beauvoir: There are actually 3 or 4 in the vault unreleased.Other released tracks Paul and I co-wrote are A Lover Like You for my band Voodoo X, we also wrote Winterland and Dirty Talk, Dirty Walk, for my band Crown Of Thorns Kiss Army Argentina: Why did you never cowrite with Gene? Or maybe you did and that material remains unreleased... Please tell us about it. Jean Beauvoir: Im not sure, Would have been fun. They kind of separated the albums and each one wrote with different people. When it came to Crown Of Thorns, Gene was handling more of the business so we just never sat and wrote Its a good question. Kiss Army Argentina: After those consecutive collaborations with KISS, did you ever have a chance to collaborate again with the band? Jean Beauvoir: Only Voodoo X and Crown of Thorns, which happened in 1989 and 1993. I moved out of LA after that, first to Florida then Europe and we havent written since. Kiss Army Argentina: What was the best of having been involved with KISS in many different ways? Jean Beauvoir: Im proud to have had the opportunity to be a part of something I believe is legendary. Ive been very fortunate in that way with KISS, The Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, Debbie Harry and The Plasmatics. KISS will always have a place in history because they dared to be different and do something that will stand the test of time. Kiss Army Argentina: Do you still keep in touch with any KISS member, former or current? Do you think that a new collaboration with the band would be likely, considering how fruitful your previous collaborations were? Jean Beauvoir: Its been quite a while since Ive been in touch with them to be honest. Time just goes to quickly, but I hope to catch up with them sometime in the near future. Kiss Army Argentina: Your career in music is really varied: you collaborated not only with KISS, but also with The Ramones, Doro Pesch and in some movies as well, like the well known film Cobra starring Sylvester Stallone. Please tell us a bit more about those collaborations. Jean Beauvoir: Ive always enjoyed collaborating and doing songs for films.. I like diversifying and also helping other Artists get their message out there. Ive actually done more films Shocker, School Of Rock, the commercial for RV, Flawless soundtrack, The Guilty, Unthinkable, Christmas With The Kranks and Im working on two more at the moment. For co-writes, most of my discography is on my website www.jeanbeauvoir.com. Ive done quite a bit throughout the years.

-5Kiss Army Argentina: What can you tell us about your present? What can we expect from you in the future? Jean Beauvoir: I have a few things going. I just came back from judging a National Songwriting competition in Norway and co-writing with some great writers from around the world. Working on music for some films, writing a script for a music based TV show, I have a competition going with a website called Reverbnation to get unsigned bands featured on ESPN Television, and Im writing songs for Crown Of Thorns. For the future, I hope to get back on tour with the band and possibly solo and continue to do more of what I love doing Kiss Army Argentina: Jean, it has been a pleasure and an honor for us to be in contact with you, so once again, thank you! Can you please leave a message for KISS Army Argentina? Jean Beauvoir: The pleasure is mine! Thumbs up for being great KISS supporters and keep your eyes open for music from me in the future. I have a 5 song free download, which includes a song with Paul Stanley, which Im offering to people who join my mailing list. Here is the link, come aboard and Ill keep you updated! http://bit.ly/MicHiG

Interview: MARCELO GARCIA and DIEGO FERREYRA (Kiss Army Argentina) Translation: Mariana MIA Abello (Kiss Army Argentina) August 2012 Visit: www.kissarmyargentina.com